A bill before the state Legislature that would ultimately increase the size of all-terrain vehicles allowed in the Adirondacks has environmental groups rumbling as loud as, well, an ATV in the woods.

The Senate debate can be roughly seen as pitting what Sen. Tom Libous, R-Binghamton, called the "way of life upstate" against environmental concerns. Sen. Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan, said, "seemingly every environmental group I know" is against the measure. Yet the Senate passed it Monday, and it's now before the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.

Lacking in the legislative debate — and, indeed, the whole conversation on this bill so far — is the big-picture question: What is the appropriate use of our state's trails, especially those in the Adirondack forest deemed "forever wild" by the state constitution?

Meanwhile, another bill would prohibit ATVs from the state forest preserve, the Long Island Central Pine Barrens and the Albany Pine Bush, citing environmental damage. This comes as Gov. Andrew Cuomo is highlighting outdoor motorized tourism like snowmobiling in the state's tourism campaign.

Upstate needs tourism dollars. But will more big engines in the backwoods bring that growth, or put it more at risk? It's a question that needs a more nuanced and broader view than this bill allows.

The ATV bill, sponsored by Assemblywoman Addie Russell, D-Watertown, and Sen. Patty Ritchie, R-Oswegatchie, would increase the allowable size of ATVs by 50 percent, from 1,000 pounds to 1,500, clearing the way for "side-by-side" utility vehicles to be used recreationally. These larger vehicles feature two seats and cargo space. They are approved for industrial and farm uses.

The bill notes that other states allow such vehicles on recreational trails, and points to the larger vehicles' seat belt and roll bar safety features. What it doesn't address is that the vehicles go faster than the smaller ATVs and weigh as much fully loaded as small cars. Nor does it mention that 10-year-olds would be allowed to drive them after passing New York's ATV safety program. And while those 10-year-olds would have only their own lives in their hands on currently approved ATVs, they could have multiple riders on board the larger ones allowed under the new bill.

The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that about one-fourth of both ATV-related injuries and fatalities involve children younger than 16. Yet, inexplicably, the current bill fails to re-examine age limits, even on these trail behemoths.

The Assembly should put this bill on hold. Then, at a less frantic time than the end of session, lawmakers and stakeholders in the Adirondacks can join in a deeper discussion that addresses not just safety issues, but this central question: What is the right balance between the roar of engines and the quiet serenity of the forest preserve, which New York has protected for 122 years?